Taiwan High Speed Rail Tickets: Taipei Fares and Booking

What a ticket from Taipei costs

THSR's general fare tables give one price per station pair and class. Adult fares from Taipei Station, checked 8 October 2026:

Children from 115 cm tall up to age 11 pay half fare, and those 150 cm or taller must show ID. Children under 115 cm, or under six with ID, ride free without a seat, up to two per paying passenger; a child who takes a seat needs a ticket (Fares and Types). Senior and disabled discounts require a Taiwan ID.

Non-reserved saves only NT$5 to NT$45 on these trips. Its real advantage is flexibility: the ticket is sold only for the day of travel and is valid on any train that day, but seats in the non-reserved cars are first come, first served, and when they are full you stand (Non-Reserved Seats). Board the cars that staff or platform screens indicate.

Discounts that matter to visitors

Two discounts are worth checking before you pay the full fare.

Early bird. The early-bird fares give 35%, 20% or 10% off a limited number of seats per train, for one-way adult tickets in reserved standard seats only. Sales stop 5 days before departure counting the booking day; THSR's example is that for a 1 September trip you must buy before 29 August. The 35% tier sells out first, some peak trains have no early-bird seats, and the ticket prints the last five digits of your passport number, so only you can use it. Early-bird tickets are sold through the website, T Express and convenience stores, not at station windows or ticket machines.

Foreign visitor one-way ticket. The THSR Pass site, open only to short-term foreign visitors, sells one-way reserved standard tickets at 15% off for adults and 50% off for children. You reserve on the site from 29 days to 1 hour before departure, but the travel date must be after the day you pay, so it cannot be bought for same-day travel. Collect the ticket at a THSR ticket counter with your passport and short-term entry document.

The 35% and 20% early-bird tiers beat the visitor one-way price, and the 10% tier does not (NT$630 to Taichung, NT$1,215 to Tainan, NT$1,340 to Zuoying). So book early bird if your date is fixed more than 5 days out and those tiers are still available; otherwise use the visitor one-way ticket.

Is the THSR Pass worth it?

The THSR Pass, also for short-term foreign visitors only, costs NT$2,200 (child NT$1,100) for 3 consecutive days or NT$2,500 (child NT$1,250) for any 2 days within 7. It covers reserved and non-reserved standard seats but not business class.

Compare it with the trips you will actually take. A Taipei–Zuoying return costs NT$2,530 on two visitor one-way tickets and NT$2,980 at full fare, so a 3-Day Pass saves money if you make that return within three days. A Taipei–Taichung return costs NT$1,190 on visitor one-ways, well below the pass price. Taipei–Tainan and back, at NT$2,290, is only NT$90 more than the pass.

The pass comes with extra steps. You must redeem your dates and collect the physical pass at a THSR ticket counter with your passport, then reserve each train at least 1 hour before departure, and you pass through the staffed gates. THSR says seats are not guaranteed at peak times and holidays, and an unused order code expires 90 days after payment.

How to book and collect

Online payment takes Visa, Mastercard, JCB and UnionPay; American Express works online only for cards issued in Taiwan by American Express International Taiwan or CTBC Bank. T Express adds Apple Pay and Google Pay, but THSR warns that Visa cards in those wallets may be declined, so use another card brand if that happens.

A mobile ticket stays on the phone that collected it and cannot be moved to another phone or shown as a screenshot. If the phone is lost or the battery dies, THSR treats you as having no valid ticket, so travellers sharing one booking should each install T Express and distribute tickets, or collect paper tickets.

Holidays: booking opens on fixed dates

Around long weekends THSR runs an adjusted schedule and publishes the date that booking opens for each holiday period. The periods current or still ahead when checked on 8 October 2026:

THSR says seat availability is not guaranteed at peak times and holidays, so book on the opening date if your plans are fixed. If reserved seats are gone, a same-day non-reserved ticket still gets you on a train, at the risk of standing.

Changing or cancelling

Before payment, changes and cancellations are free. After payment, a refund costs NT$20 per ticket and must be done at least 30 minutes before departure; the rest goes back to your card in 7 to 15 working days. Your first change of time or date is free and later changes cost NT$20 each. Tickets collected at a convenience store can be refunded there or at any THSR station; at the store the charge is NT$20 per ticket (NT$10 refund fee plus NT$10 store fee), and the NT$10 issuing fee is not returned (ticket window rules). After paying, the T Express app does not accept refunds for trains leaving within 30 minutes.

Coming straight from the airport? THSR's Taoyuan station is a stop on the line, and Taoyuan Airport to Taipei compares the Airport MRT, bus and taxi into the city. Before you fly, complete the Taiwan Arrival Card, and for what still needs cash on a day trip see Cash or Card in Taipei.